benedict



(No Model.)

F. D. FRY 8?; H,- W. BENEDICT.

OVER-SHOE- NO. 395 271. Patented D60. Z5, 1888..

WITNESSES 'NVENTURE W4 imaw NlTE rarns arnnr trier,

FREDERICK D. FRY AND HENRY BENEDICT, OF DANBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNORS TO SAID HENRY WV. BENEDICT AND THEODORE H. BENEDICT,

OF SAME PLACE.

OVERSHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 395,271, dated December 25, 1888.

Application filed April 5, 1888. $erial No. 269,721. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

lle it known that we, FREDERICK D. FRY and HENRY W. BENEDICT, citizens of the United States, residing at Danbury, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain. new and useful Improvements in Overshoes; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our present invention is an improvement upon our former Letters Patent, No. 364,006, dated May 31, 1887, and No. 368,603, dated August 23, 1887, and has for its object to further improve the construction of overshoes, so that all danger of slipping off at the h eel while in use shall be avoided, without adding, however, to the cost of production. \Ve have found in practice that under certain circumstances and for certain classes of shoes it is advisable to have independent elastic contactpoints within the counter of the overshoe, which will engage the heel of the shoe without there being a continuous contact and without engagement of said contact-points with any portion of the shoe except the heel thereof. This is an important feature, as it allows the body of the overshoe to fit closely about the counter and sides of the shoe, so that the finish of line grades of shoes cannot be inj ured by the entrance of mud or by friction of contact-points against the counter or sides, the essential principle of our present invention being that the elastic contact-points are so located below or on the lower part of the counter of the overshoe as not to come in con tact with any portion of the shoe proper, but only with the heel. This construction acts perfectly to prevent friction and chafing of the overshoe upon the shoe, and also prevents the overshoe from slipping off. The overshoe, as a whole, moreover, is lighter and less expensive than when the projection is made solid, while at the same time the advantages of protecting the overshoe against running over at the heel are preserved in our present construction. lVith these ends in view we have devised the novel construction of which the following description, in. connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, numbers being used to denote the several parts.

Figures 1, 2, S, and i are perspective views of overshoes, a portion of the sides being broken away to show the application of our present invention; and Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the form illustrated in Fig. 3, and also of the heel of an ordinary overshoe, showing the manner in which the contact-points engage therewith.

1 denotes the heel of an ordinary shoe; 2, the overshoe; 3, the counter thereof, and 4 contact-points projecting inward from the counter, which engage the heel of the shoe. These contact-points may be made of any suitable elastic materialpreferably, however, of rubber. They can be made independently and attached to the shoe by riveting or cementing, but are preferably molded integral with the shoe in the process of manufacture. The exact shape and size of these contactpoints is a matter that must be left entirely to the judgment of the manufacturer and will depend upon the requirements of the trade, or, in other words, upon the shape of heels in fashion at the time upon ordinary shoes. It is of course required that the'contactpoints shall be made large enough to engage firmly upon ordinary shoe-heels, and at the same time that they shall not be made so large as to prevent the overshoe from being drawn on and slipped off readily. The form of contactpoints illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5 we have found very simple and inexpensive to make and thoroughly successful in use, and will specify them as our preferred form, although the other forms have been tried in use and all are admirably adapted to holding the overshoe in place, while at the same time they allow it to be slipped off without difficulty, the important feature being that in use-that is, in walking in muddy weatherthe heel of the shoe below the counter is grasped so firmly by theinwardly-projecting and elastic con tact-points upon the counter of the overshoe that there is no danger Whatever of the overshoe being drawn off.

Having thus described our invention, We claim As an improved article of manufacture, an overshoe having" on the lower inner side of its heel a series of imvardly-proj ecting and elastic contact-points situated below the line of the counter of the shoe and opposite the position of the heel of the latter, said points being adapted to engage only the shoe-heel with a yielding pressure and to permit the counter of the overshoe to fit the body of the shoe closely.

I11 testimony whereof I affix my signature 1n presence of two Witnesses.

FREDERICK D. FRY. HENRY W. BENEDICT. Witnesses:

A. S. GRAY, NORMAN HODGE. 

